Twitter has agreed to a multi-year content arrangement with the Overwatch League to share highlights and produce a weekly esports show on league activity.
The agreement, which was announced on Thursday, begins this weekend with near real-time highlights from the Overwatch League All-Star Weekend, taking place at Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles. Clips of the action will be produced throughout the OWL’s regular season and playoffs every year for the duration of the deal. (The exact number of years was not specified.)
Beginning with the 2019 season, Twitter will host Watchpoint, a weekly show touting upcoming matches and recapping the action with analysis and stats.
“From the inception of the Overwatch League, the community on Twitter has always been one of our most passionate and engaged,” said Daniel Cherry, VP and CMO for Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, in a news release. “That’s why we are particularly excited to announce this collaboration, beginning with the Overwatch League’s All Star-Weekend.”
In January, Twitch paid a reported $90 million for streaming broadcast rights to the Overwatch League’s first two seasons. Twitter has been the live-stream carrier for other esports events such as ESL, DreamHack, Halo, and Eleague.
“Twitter is where Overwatch League conversations happen and we’re thrilled to bring more content to the platform for several years,” said Rishi Chadha, head of gaming partnerships at Twitter, in the release. “Overwatch League is one of the most Tweeted-about esports leagues on the platform, and this partnership will bolster that conversation.”
SportTechie Takeaway
The linear TV ratings of the Overwatch League Grand Finals in late July weren’t great, but the season-long Twitch viewership was solid. This reinforces how much the esports audience lives more in the digital world than the traditional broadcast one, making Twitter a natural partner for its coverage.